Mission Valley

From 2014 to 2019, Diego Velasco was a key member of the consulting team assisting City of San Diego Planning staff in the development of the Mission Valley Community Plan Update. Diego’s role (while Principal-in-Charge of Planning at M.W. Steele Group) was to lead the urban design visioning and concepts for key districts and development opportunity sites in the community. Starting with the Mission Valley Heights district, Diego illustrated an urban design vision that identifies placemaking opportunities and strengthens land use connectivity to the San Diego River. He formulated urban design concepts for the Fashion Valley Mall area, helped the city craft design standards for development along hillsides and Interstate 8, and informed and managed the creation of visual simulations for mobility improvements in three critical areas of the community, including a Mobility Hub at the Mission Valley center Trolley Station. Several illustrations and imagery in the plan are attributable to Diego and many more build from over a decade of work on Community Plan Updates in the City of San Diego. 

→ Mission Valley Community Plan

El Cajon Transit District Specific Plan

The TDSP was a Sandag grant-funded project that focused land use and zoning changes to support a 260-acre district around the city’s light rail station. Diego Velasco (while Principal-in-Charge of Planning at M.W. Steele Group) led a team of consultants to develop a land use strategy based on real-world true-testing of key sites in the district. Diego coordinated this effort with Keyser Marston and Associates, and the results of the testing were communicated to key community stakeholders and the development community. The plan includes Form-Based Zoning and Focus Area Plans to activate the public realm through design. Working with Chen Ryan and Associates, the plan proposes Complete Street concepts (including three roundabouts on El Cajon Blvd.) to serve as traffic calming devices and “green gateways” into the city. The plan introduces dedicated bike lanes, urban multi-use trails, landscaped parkways, and widened sidewalks for public gathering and cafes and last-mile connectivity.

Community Outreach and engagement was a critical component of the planning process. Diego led two public workshops, four working group meetings, pop-up outreach events, intercept surveys and public hearings to gain stakeholder participation at multiple levels.

The plan was adopted by City Council in May, 2018 and awarded the Comprehensive Plan: Large Jurisdiction Excellence Award by the San Diego Chapter of the American Planning Association.

→ Adopted Transit District Specific Plan

In the Summer of 2018, Diego Velasco was invited by the City of San Diego Planning Department to lead a series of community “training sessions” and discussions focused on public realm activation, placemaking and building design for the Clairemont Community. The design sessions culminated in a “deep dive” discussion on building height (a highly sensitive issue in the community). In addition to the “trainings,” the City of San Diego engaged Diego Velasco to develop a vision and concept for the redevelopment of key centers, nodes and corridors in the community.  Through 3D modeling, visual simulations and photo montages, Diego was able to show how the community may transform over time to enhance and enrich the urban experience with places and services the community can appreciate.

In the Winter of 2019, Diego Velasco (while Principal-in-Charge at M.W. Steele Group), developed more than 30 place-type illustrations in 3D perspective views that City of San Diego Planning Department staff used to inform an interactive online engagement exercise, focused on the selection of preferred land use alternatives. The imagery relates back to key focus areas that were identified in the design discussions preceding the land use alternatives. The online exercise received over 500 entries and canvassed a wide population of stakeholders. Diego Velasco (as Principal-in-Charge at Citythinkers) will continues to assist City staff in the development of the Urban Design element of the Community Plan, with an anticipated adoption in 2020.

→ Clairemont Community Plan Update Webpage